Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: The Christmas Veto
SERIES: Festive Fakes
AUTHOR: Keira Andrews
PUBLISHER: KA Books
LENGTH: 280 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 16, 2023
BLURB:
Can fake dating lead to true love?
My name’s Connor Lisowski, and here’s what you need to know about me:
I’ve had a massive crush on my best friend’s older brother since high school.
Everyone thinks I’m straight.
I have two dads but I’m afraid to come out.
I’ve never even been kissed.
And somehow, I’ve been roped into pretending to be Reid’s boyfriend for the holidays. Who’s Reid, you ask? Only the aforementioned best friend’s older brother who never looked at me twice.
Until now.
The Christmas Veto by Keira Andrews is a gay Christmas romance featuring fake boyfriends, a bisexual king in a designer suit, first times, and of course a happy ending. Connor first appears in The Christmas Deal, but this novel can be read as a standalone.
REVIEW:
The Christmas Veto is a sweet and fluffy, fake boyfriends, holiday read. It’s the third book in Keira Andrews’ Festive Fakers series. Starring this time are Reid and his brother’s best friend, Connor. Connor and his step-dads, Seth and Logan, are from book one but this book can easily be read as a standalone.
Reid comes from a very wealthy family headed by his matriarchal grandmother. He has his own business ideas, though, and he’s bored and unhappy to be the heir to a family business he doesn’t care about. Also making him terribly uncomfortable are all the women his grandmother tries to set him up with. She doesn’t believe in Reid’s bisexuality so he entices Connor to be his fake boyfriend in exchange for $10,000. This was a no brainer for Connor who has had a longtime crush on Reid.
Reid makes a list of quintessential New York City things to do for dates with Connor. I loved traveling around the city with them. I also liked how easily – without angst – they transition from fake boyfriends to real.
It was initially confusing why Connor wouldn’t come out of the closet, especially having two dads and seemingly accepting friends, but it becomes clearer as the book continues.
Connor is completely inexperienced and their first kiss – his first kiss ever – was sweet.
Overall, I enjoyed this Christmas love story. Reid and Connor are very well suited and I’m a sucker for the fake boyfriend trope. It isn’t as charming as some of Andrews’ holiday books but still worth a read.
RATING: 
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